Confirmed: Earthrace Superboat Joining Sea Shepherd Fleet

by Michael dEstries June 25, 2009
Categories: Animals, Causes
Tags: paul watson.

When we first heard the rumors that Sea Shepherd might acquire add the sleek, biodiesel-fueled powerboat called Earthrace to their efforts — we wanted to believe. But seriously, would it be possible? Could an anti-whaling organization land something out of a James Bond movie to further their cause?

Yes.

Outside the International Whaling Commission meeting in Portugal, Sea Shepherd announced plans for their sixth campaign against Japanese commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary – Operation Waltzing Matilda. They also revealed the incredible news that the Earthrace will be joining the SS Steve Irwin in this new operation. And yes, it will change from its current silver to the Sea Shepherd’s striking black.

“It looks like a spaceship. It can do 40 knots and dive under waves completely. We’ll be using it to intercept and block harpoons,” said Captain Paul Watson, who earlier this week was arrested (And later released) after entering Portugal. He added that the organization was outfitting the vessel with half a tonne of Kevlar to toughen it against the ice. “It has the endurance to go half way round the world on a tank of fuel,” he said. “They won’t get away from me.”

The Steve Irwin will also be receiving some love in the form of $500,000 in repairs and additions. Its buckled hull plates have been repaired (after clashes earlier this year with the Japanese), and a powerful water cannon has been added on the bow to match the whalers’.

Finally, the organization confirmed that the Animal Planet television crew will be back to film season three of the popular show Whale Wars. “We are taking the most powerful anti-whaling weapon at our disposal: a film crew,” said Laurens de Groot, a Sea Shepherd Netherlands Director. “The cameras are more powerful than cannons and our ammunition is the naked truth about illegal whaling. We intend to keep the focus on Japanese crimes and we intend to sink the Japanese whaling fleet – economically.”

via IndyBay and The Brisbane Times

Categories: Animals, Causes
Tags: paul watson.

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →

Mike

I watched Whale War on Animal Planet and was shocked that the crew of the Sea Shepherd could even raise enough money to field a crew to man that boat. Captain Watson is an idiot, blinded by his PASSION for the whales, he puts his crew and the Japanese in danger by his reckless and naive actions. I am not surprised they managed to sink suck a beautiful ship and you can clearly see the crew revved the engines to put the Earthrace in the path of the Japanese whaling ship. The Sea Shepherd are lucky the Japanese dont just shoot them for their disregard for the sea they are struggling to protect.
professional mariner

I have heard that Paul Watson does not even have a Captain’s license but has people calling him Captain. This would be like someone who is not a doctor having people call him Dr. People who do this are looked down on and ignored, especially by those of us who have had years of training and seatime to get our licenses.

zekw

Where do i start with you people, The crew is volunteers, MIKE,
Watson has years as a capt., if you watch more than the colliding 2 seconds you may happen to notice that the whalers ram sea shepherd, the forward motion of the Ady Gill was to try to evade, the capt. Peat something was at the helm and, if you know any sea-shepherd history you may note that they are not stupid

Fozzy

The Japanese are engaged in a legal business on the open sea, these half assed pirates and engaging in what amounts to terrorism on the high sea. I’d love to see the Japanese military go out and protect their citizens by sinking this boatload of morons and abandoning the survivors to their own fate.
http://svenaerts228.blogspot.com/ SvenAERTS

Take good care of her and may she fulfill her purpose …
Sven
Former Earthrace Fundraiser
Jim

All you radicals that preach deadly violence against the Japanese ships are completely insane. Whales are not worth going to war over. Are you radicals gonna lead the first charge? Gee harvesting certain whales that are numerous in the sea is not a crime. Its called fishing
CPT. MP

I saw the Earthrace right after it was first commissioned and it was an amazing vessel. I’m glad it got put to use for something as epic as this. Paul Watson’s tactics may seem crazy, destructive, etc. From a Captain’s standpoint, as someone who is supposed to navigate a vessel safely and his main concern is for the safe voyage of the vessel and crew, sure, it’s chaos. But everyone that boards that vessel is aware of the dangers. I’ll also add that Paul Watson undoubtedly has enough sea time and experience to be eligible for a Captain’s License, and his crew is probably more educated than the average crew of most commercial vessels. And his “Passion” is really one of the few drivers left in this world making a difference for our planet. Peaceful protests have not successfully stopped whaling or the clubbing of seals; government and rich organizations have too many private interests to actually make a difference. If more people understood the laws of nature, Paul Watson would have more support because people would realize that by trashing the Earth and the animals who live here, we are committing suicide. Therefore, the extremism is warranted. Go Sea Shephards!